Mosquitoes Weren't Anticipated In Bandon Marsh Restoration

Federal wildlife managers never considered that restoring a salt marsh along the southern Oregon coast would produce hordes of mosquitoes around the tourist town of Bandon, a world-class golf course nearby or a popular state campground.
But after a summer of outrage from local residents and pressure from the local congressman, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is taking the unusual step of allowing insecticide to be sprayed on the Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge north of the city.
The agency issued a special use permit Tuesday laying out limitations on spraying for mosquitoes on the marsh, which was restored to improve habitat for salmon and shorebirds.
However, with the federal budget tight, Coos County is scraping up money to do the spraying.